Dehumanization
by gw
Summary: The Decepticons abduct Miko for interrogation, experimentation, and exploitation of the Autobots' primary weakness. Dark. My portrayal of Miko won't be as obnoxious as the canon one.
1. Chapter 1

_Note: this first chapter is short and to the point; think of it as a teaser. Subsequent chapters will be longer._

"See ya, Bulkhead!", Miko called out as she waved to her friend after he dropped her off at the end of her home's driveway. With a _Best Buy_ shopping bag in one hand, she used the other to retrieve her cell phone to let Raf know that she'd managed to pick up their combined birthday present for Jack.

The call lasted only a minute, and Miko was left with an anticipatory grin for the surprise party that weekend. But after she tucked her phone away, she found herself forcefully yanked off the ground, having been scooped up by a pair of large metal talons. Startled, she quickly realized that she was being abducted by Laserbeak. She lost hold of the bag and it fell to the ground. "Bulkhead! Helllllp!", she yelled, but her friend was long out of earshot. She struggled to break free of Laserbeak's grip, not that falling from such a height would be good for her health, but the mechanical avian only responded by tightening its grip on her.

And then the vortex of a ground-bridge opened up in the air ahead of them, and they disappeared into it.

Aboard the Decepticon warship, Laserbeak unceremoniously dropped Miko into a transparent, cylindrical container, perhaps ten feet high and ten feet in diameter.

Miko pushed herself off the floor and into a sitting position. Her shoulders and upper arms were sore and badly bruised from Laserbeak's talons. She took a moment to inspect the bruises, but was interrupted by the sound of approaching footsteps. She looked up to find Soundwave looming over her.

The mute Decepticon wasted no time in extending a pair of ominous-looking tentacles into Miko's prison, violating her personal space.

"Ayaa! Keep those things away from me!", Miko yelled, scooting herself backward, away from the tentacles until she could retreat no further. Fearing what would happen as they drew close to her face, she turned her head to the side and clenched her teeth.

Soundwave's tentacles proceded to give her a thorough scan for electronic devices. They found and extracted the cell phone from her pocket, and then retracted.

Realizing that her favorite possession had been taken, Miko sprung to her feet and stared up at him. "Hey! Give that back, you faceless jerk!"

Soundwave ignored her.

A louder set of footsteps caused the floor beneath her to vibrate, and she canted her head to find Megatron approaching her, the sight of whom made her tremble and sent her retreating to the far side of her prison again, until her back was to the wall.

"You are in no position to make any demands, impetuous human," the Decepticon leader rasped. He peered down at her from above with malicious red optics.

She slid downward to the floor and wrapped her arms around her legs. "What-What are you going to do with me? Use me as a bargaining chip?", she dared to ask, not sure she wanted to hear the answer. She knew the Autobots would give anything to keep their human friends safe, even if it put them at a strategic disadvantage, and even if she pleaded for them not to accept such a deal.

"You'll find out soon enough," Megatron stated ominously. He turned around and started walking out of the room. "Soundwave, inform Knock Out and Shockwave that our guest has arrived."


	2. Chapter 2

Knock Out soon arrived to collect the human captive, not having foreknowledge of which Autobot ally it would be, but he instantly recognized Miko by her bright hair coloring. "Ah, so we got the feisty one. Welcome aboard," he greeted her, crouching down outside her cylindrical prison to get a good look at her. "I'm _so_ looking forward to working with you."

"Yeah? Well I'm sorry, but the feeling isn't mutual," Miko retorted.

"Fortunately, that won't be a problem; we have ways to, how shall we say-_encourage_ your cooperation," Knock Out replied. He stood up to his full height, reached into Miko's prison, and retrieved her easily, despite her squirming. "Silly girl, it's pointless to struggle against me. The more you resist, the more unpleasant my bedside manner will become."

Miko stared up at his face in confusion. "Bedside manner? What the heck are you talking about?"

"My dear, you're going to be my patient for quite a long while," Knock Out answered with a smug grin.

"Patient?", Miko repeated. Suddenly the true meaning of his words set in. "You mean-like a test subject?"

"You catch on quickly," Knock Out observed. He proceeded to carry her out of the room to some other part of the ship.

Miko dreaded finding out what sort of experiments she'd be subjected to. In her history classes, she'd learned about some of the Josef Mengele's cruel experiments on Jews during the Holocaust, as well as what her own country did at Unit 751 to Chinese and Russian test subjects that made Mengele pale by comparison. But why would the Decepticons want to experiment on humans? She could only hope they weren't planning to test some kind of chemical, biological, or radiological weapon on her, with the intent of eradicating humanity from the face of the earth. Though Knock Out did say 'for quite a long while', whatever that meant to a Transformer. At best, that implied they didn't plan to kill her in the forseeable future; at worst, she would die very, very slowly.

They arrived at what Miko realized was a laboratory. Once inside, she saw that Shockwave was also present, apparently preparing for something as he was arranging tools on the edge of a small repair berth which had been modified by the addition of straps to immobilize a human subject.

"Here's our patient," Knock Out said as he set Miko down on the berth in front of Shockwave.

"It appears fragile, but it will suffice," Shockwave intoned.

Miko stared up at Shockwave's ominous red optic, then glanced around her at tools on the table. They were unfamiliar, and more delicate than the ones she'd seen Ratchet use before. Knowing they were going to operate on her immediately, she started trembling, and her eyes darted around, trying to find some way to get down from the berth and escape this. She turned and sprinted for the end of the table, planning to jump off even though it would be a twelve-foot fall to the floor below.

Knock Out brought his hand down ahead of her, putting an end to her escape attempt. "Nuh-uh-uh! Even if you got down, there's nowhere for you to hide in here. Now, without wasting any more time, remove your clothing," he ordered.

Miko turned to look up at Knock Out. "You can take those tools and shove them up your ass."

Knock Out scooped her up and moved her to the center of the table, pinning her down and applying a little pressure, then brought his face close to her. "Remove your clothes, or we'll do it for you. I won't tell you again."

Miko sighed and relented. The feeling of being so overpowered was humiliating. "Fine."

Knock Out removed his hand so that Miko could strip down, and he watched her intently, which unnerved the girl, but she had little choice in this. When she was done, she wrapped one arm across her breasts and used the other to cover up her privates.

Knock Out rolled his optics. "Silly girl, we are professionals, and your species is revolting to us, so your notions of modesty are irrelevant. Now lay down in the center of the berth so we can strap you down."

Miko complied.


End file.
